Reds Managing General Partner Marge Schott's letter of
apology was reportedly written by broadcaster Bill Cunningham of
the WLW, the Reds flagship station, according to Ross Newhan of
the L.A. TIMES. Although Cunningham denies it, colleagues "at
his own station have gone on the air and ripped him for doing
it." The station also had the statement on the air around 90
minutes before it was released though MLB offices in New York.
Newhan notes that acting MLB Commissioner Bud Selig and MLB
officials "are nervous" about a Sports Illustrated story on
Schott expected to run in the new few weeks. The interview wad
done before Schott's recent ESPN remarks, "and the early report
is that 'Marge was typically Marge'" (L.A. TIMES, 5/12).
COULD SHE SELL? One "high-ranking" MLB official, on the
possibility of Schott selling her stake in the Reds: "This is
without a doubt the most calculating person I have ever met in my
life. A very, very cold lady. She has a bigger ego than any
owner I've ever been around. ... This women is not going to step
down" (Gene Wojciechowski, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 5/12). In New York,
Bill Madden questions if MLB has "ever had a worse week?" He
calls on Selig to invoke the "all-compassing best interest of
baseball clause" and remove Schott as Managing General Partner of
the Reds (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/12). In Providence, Sean McAdam
writes the game's image "is tattered enough" without a "slow-
thinking, fast-talking owner to thrust it onto the front page
with idiotic comments every few weeks" (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL-
BULLETIN, 5/12). In Boston, Peter Gammons notes that some MLB
owners are discussing ways to "convince or force" Schott to sell
the team (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/12).
OTHER BASEBALL NOTES: Gammons also reports there are a few
player reps who don't expect a labor deal until the end of the
season. Some Expos players have suggested "they'll trade the
services time for free agency and arbitration for the service
time on the pension." But one player rep said, "While most of us
would go for that, [MLBPA Exec Dir] Don [Fehr] won't" (BOSTON
GLOBE, 5/12)....NEWSDAY's Jon Heyman notes indications "are
strong" that AL President Gene Budig will sentence Indians OF
Albert Belle to extensive counseling sessions rather than a
suspension for hitting SI photographer Tony Tomsic with a
baseball (NEWSDAY, 5/12).... One owner, asked if Brett Butler's
throat cancer would lead to a tougher stance on chewing tobacco:
"That's a union issue." But another "prominent baseball person":
"I think you'll see a tremendous joint effort on this one"
(Jayson Stark, PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 5/12).
